BoboS

Exactly, and precisely none of the comment (in the media or FA statement etc) or indeed the punishment itself reflects any of this complexity at this point. That to me (along with the condemnation in advance of fact thing) is what is most infuriating...

That comment is really good - I think the wider commentary coming from South America in general (as Argentinian article posted earlier) and Uruguay in particular is one thing that can help Luis's case as it inches forward over the next few weeks. The extent to which the linguistic and cultural side is being ignored is shocking. Mainstream comment is now united behind the 'racist word not racist person still worthy of sanction and 'in our country must abide by our cultural norms' themes which spectacularly miss the point. He (we still presume without any evidence) used a word IN SPANISH, which has a different meaning in English, it just sounds similar . The logical extension is that if a Japanese player says something which means "i really like your boots" which sounds a bit like something racist in English if taken out of context IN ANOTHER F*CKING LANGUAGE then its unacceptable use of racist language. Ignoring intent and cultural context is just ridiculous. Of course it's whether someone's being racist or not that's the f*cking problem!?

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Unlikely if he's still together with berlusconi's daughter? It does seem that bs is particularly out of control this window - already!

http://88.80.11.29/33947/watch-liverpool-vs-wigan

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http://atdhenet.tv/

surprised no-one's linked us to amauri yet given the utter lack of viable torres alternatives in our anticipated 433 formation... Not torres level clearly (but carroll etc. hardly are either), but strong and decent, juve looking to get rid even if on loan, gotta be better than anelka til the end of the season... still, unless things get cracking within an hour or two i guess anything from europe becomes impossible.... he's definitely a lot better than beingchased by fulham and west brom would suggest...

www.atdhe.net as usual!

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speculation on F365 transfer roundup today that mclaren @ wolfsburg offered 6m for jova? Not bothered looking for almost certainly bobbins original source but surely that'd be well into arm biting off territory (not having had a fair crack or not, a chunky profit on someone that doesn't appear to be in current plans)... 12m for him & babel, plus the 13m we're due for alberto = suarez & adam sorted, even before we spend any real new money at all?

like suarez!

Elsewhere in the guardian this is pretty spot on, though (sorry if posted already, hadn't seen anywhere on here) - media momentum has clearly turned in the last 24 hours, not before f*cking time mind!!! Liverpool have to sack Hodgson now Pass and move, it's the Liverpool groove? Not any more. The Hodgson way is more hoof and pray. As endless long punts were hammered towards Fernando Torres and David Ngog during last night's defeat to Wolves, it became increasingly impossible to justify Roy Hodgson lasting at Anfield beyond the end of the week. Patience has its virtues, and chairmen can be trigger-happy, but it is hardly compulsory; Hodgson's time is up. He simply has to go. Forget about giving him extra time and the chance to dip into the transfer market in January. Trust has to be earned and Hodgson has failed. Liverpool are perched three points above the bottom three. Losing to Northampton Town, Blackpool and Wolves at Anfield in the space of six months, no matter what financial constraints Hodgson has had to work under, is a grotesque underachievement for a club of Liverpool's elevated standing. For all his complaints about the situation he inherited from Rafael Benítez, Hodgson took over a squad containing Pepe Reina, Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Torres. Granted, he lost Mascherano to Barcelona but he also willingly parted with Alberto Aquilani, while bringing in the laughable pair of Paul Konchesky and Christian Poulsen. Although Liverpool were average last season, they still finished seventh. With the players at his disposal, Hodgson has introduced an ugly, negative route-one style, which last night saw the defence bypassing the midfield with alarming regularity. These tactics might have sufficed at Fulham, but then Hodgson has often appeared dumbfounded by the level of expectation at Anfield. Not only is this approach unforgivable against Wolves, who were bottom of the table before the game and had amassed just one point on their travels all season, it is hopelessly misguided considering the players at Hodgson's disposal. Torres is not exactly Kevin Davies – he needs the ball played to feet or for him to run on to. He will never beat the likes of Christophe Berra in the air. Torres is a world-class striker being forced to operate like a lower-league journeyman, even if his form has been at that standard since the summer. While Liverpool's players must take some responsibility too, clearly Hodgson has lost the dressing room, if he ever had it in the first place. Under Benítez, when Liverpool were losing games at Anfield, teams would brace themselves for the inevitable barrage as they defended their goal at the Kop End, waiting for Gerrard to pop up with a jaw-dropping equaliser. Last night there was nothing. With Wolves, whose sparky, attractive style of play belied their lowly position, required to do the bare minimum, dissent grew among the home supporters. Afterwards Hodgson was critical of the fans, questioning where the "famous support" had gone. He sounded like an away fan mocking a subdued home crowd about the lack of atmosphere. It almost appears as if he is getting his shots in early. Liverpool's supporters already disliked Hodgson. This will be seen as a step too far.

working where? was about to ask the same question...

i dunno - watched a fair bit of balotelli living in italy, even when he was coming through a couple of years ago and I reckon he has potential to be an absolute monster in a more physical league like ours.... and i don't reckon he deserves a lot of the bad press he gets - still super young and has so much to deal with from fans & press alike, by being the only high profile Italian black player in a country whose race relations are from the f*cking stone age. Anything he does or says gets jumped on, and the provocation and condemnation are pretty endless. Off the pitch when he's interviewed for a 19 year old have to say I didn't mind him at all, and wouldn't be the first teenager prone to an occasional lapse of judgement without it being terminal. Doesn't come close to babel in terms of lack of heart or balls. But then, even Babel's shown a few glimpses of late. Doesn't stop the story being utter bobbins, like. Or even selling stevie to fund it being a ridiculous idea. But if he does come to england at some point i think he'll be a star if he finds himself in the right setup. A lot more likely to be Arsenal than us, though...

Victor Valdez & Kolo Toure - haha, overpaid slightly??

gerrard from the offal - genius! "I thought the referee was superb today," he added. "Fans come to games wanting to see passion and fight from players. There were some mis-timed tackles out there, but we won't be complaining about the referee.

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